New League of Legends Skins

During the course of the calendar year, fall is a particularly busy time for Riot Games and League of Legends. Every year the World Championship happens near the end of September heading into the beginning of October. As the biggest event of the year for the game, a keen eye is turned towards the title as the event gains traction across the participating countries and various gaming outlets.

Halloween also occurs near the end of the World Championship which brings its own festivities into the mix, followed by the Snowdown event in December. With so much attention turned towards the company during this time, it provides an excellent opportunity to introduce New League of Legends Skins into the mix. If the preseason is failing to capture your interest and you are looking to latch onto something within the game again, these new skins may be the perfect opportunity for such an endeavor.

What New League of Legends Skins are the most noteworthy?

K/DA Event

K-Pop collaboration

Thematic context for the skins

Earlier this year, Riot Games announced that the 2018 World Championship would be held in South Korea as was also the case in 2014. In order to celebrate the venue and historically the strongest competitive region, the K/DA event was born. The country is known for many different aspects, one of the most notable being the musical genre known as K-Pop or Korean pop music. K-Pop is a genre defined by boy and girl groups creating flashy music videos and well thought out choreography. In fact, the choreography is so well known it is often imitated by artists in other genres. This choreography is on full display in the K/DA music video specifically created for the World Championship Final that was held in Incheon, South Korea.

K/DA, which stands for Kill to Death ratio, is the name given to the fictitious K-Pop inspired League of Legends group. It consists of the champions Akali, Evelynn, Kai’Sa, and Ahri: four champions for who skins were also created in honor of the event. All four champions are featured in the music video and are the focal point of the event.

The music video was created by French studio Fortiche. Each champion received a real-life female singer counterpart, with two of the women working on the music being members of the K-Pop group (G)I-dle. Furthermore, each champion received a back story to complement their involvement in this fictitious group, which provides thematic context for the skins.

Ultimately, this event was created to promote and sell the skins, and in the weeks following the video’s release, this proved to be a lucrative decision with the skins receiving a substantial amount of attention on social media and the music video amassing millions upon millions of views on YouTube.

The skins themselves sell for 1350 RP each which has been met with some backlash as some fans feel they don’t do enough to differentiate themselves from 975 RP priced skins. The K/DA skins for Akali, Evelynn, Kai’Sa, and Ahri feature different animation effects and recall animations. They lack the voiceover changes seen in some more expensive skins, but regardless they are the best example of what new skins bring to the table.

How does the Harrowing Event tie in with new skins?

Halloween event

Halloween themed skins

Legacy

As mentioned previously, the Harrowing Event is a League of Legends event that occurs near Halloween every year. This year featured a crossover between it and the World Championship that was happening at the same time. When doing missions for the Championship, a player could accrue tokens and during the event this year those tokens could also be used on Harrowing items as well, which provided some much-needed flexibility for players, especially for those completely uninterested in chromas and other attainable goods related to the World Championship.

Continuing a long-standing tradition for the event and the company, Riot released skins alongside the Harrowing itself. This year featured Bewitching Janna, Count Kledula, and Trick or Treat Ekko. Each skins cost 1350 RP, but they could also be bought as parts of bundles that included all chromas for that particular skin, a skin ward, an icon, and a border for 3290 RP.

It needs to be noted that each of these skins is legacy skins, with the minor exception of Count Kledula that only becomes legacy after a year. What does this mean exactly? A legacy skin is a skin that is only available for purchase for a limited amount of time but has the chance of being made obtained through other means after the allotted time expires. For this particular year, Bewitching Janna and Trick or Treat Ekko were only available until November 3rd. This is certainly not new in any way. Historically speaking, holiday skins have been legacy skins, creating a particular aura of prestige around them.

How about the Snowdown event?

Annual December event

Will feature winter-themed skins

Snowdown is very similar to the Harrowing Event, in being an event tied to a specific time of the year. It is happening between now and January 7th and winter-themed skins will be available during this time. These skins will include Frozen Prince Mundo, Winter Wonder Soraka, Ice King Twitch, and Snow Man Yi.

As a company that likes to follow its own rules and traditions, Riot is charging 1350 RP for each skin, much like their Harrowing counterparts, and will likewise be bundled for the same price with the same perks. The Snowdown event typically involves less fanfare because it happens after the ranked season concludes, but it is an exciting time for fans nonetheless and if you enjoy playing any of these four champions, this particular event will be right up your alley.

Final Thoughts

It is no secret that League of Legends sustains itself through skin sales for its champions. With so many skins released on an annual basis, it can prove difficult to keep track of them. Fortunately, specific events held this year showcased skins that have proved to be a boon for the game and community. In particular, the K/DA event held during the World Championship and in the days following turned the global spotlight towards League of Legends as more and more people became increasingly aware of the K-Pop inspired music video. Taking into account the Harrowing and Snowdown events as well, New League of Legends Skins have been able to garner outside interest in the game and rekindle lost attention from the game’s existing player base. Now is a great time to be a fans of skins, and it seems likely this momentum will carry over into 2019.